Advocacy

ISSUE BRIEF: S. 800 SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL REAUTHORIZATION ACT

The Issue

ASLA supports legislation to develop infrastructure that encourages school children across the country to walk or bicycle to school

Background & Analysis

In the past forty years, the number of U.S. school children who walk or bicycle to school has declined dramatically, contributing to the widespread problems of childhood obesity and traffic congestion. In an effort to combat these issues by encouraging children to walk and bicycle to school, the federal Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program was established in 2005.

S. 800, the Safe Routes to School Reauthorization Act, introduced by Senator Harkin on April 12, 2011. It would reauthorize the program and enhance and streamline
the implementation of the program.Specifically, the program allows communities to apply for grants to provide
infrastructure improvements like constructing new sidewalks, bike lanes,
pathways, safe crossings and traffic signals so that our nation’s young people
can safely travel to and from school each day. The program also supports
non-infrastructure activities including walking and bicycling safety education,
driver awareness campaigns and more robust enforcement of speed limits and
traffic safety rules near schools. The
legislation expands the program to include projects for high schools that can
also serve nearby elementary or middle schools.

Since its inception in 2005, SRTS has benefitted more than 4,000
elementary and middle schools across the country.However, demand for the program continues to
exceed available funds.Currently, there
are three times as many applicants as awards and the demand for funds is four
times what is awarded.

By enhancing the Safe Routes to School program, the bill
aims to reduce the number injuries and fatalities suffered by children
traveling to and from school and improve children’s health while also reducing traffic
congestion and air and water pollution.

Sponsor(s)

Current Status

S. 800 was referred to Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works where it is awaiting further action. On November 9, 2011, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW)
Committee unanimously passed a two-year surface transportation
reauthorization bill known as Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century or MAP-21 (S. 1813).
The Transportation Enhancements (TE), Safe Routes to School, and
Recreational Trails programs are all continued under the bill. However,
the measure removes the current dedicated funding for each program and
instead lumps all three programs together along with programs to build
high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) roads and wetlands mitigation projects.
Specifically, the programs would be consolidated and listed as “eligible
uses” under a subset of the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality
Program (CMAQ) with funding for all three programs limited to $833
million. This represents about a $313 million cut from 2010 funding
levels for the programs. Moreover, the proposal would also allow states
to “opt out” of these pedestrian and bicycle programs and divert their
portion of funding to spend on other CMAQ road projects.

Since
its inception on 2005, the Safe Routes To School (SRTS) program has
received dedicated federal funding to provide states with grants to
implement projects. Under MAP-21, the program would no longer receive
its dedicated funding. Instead, state Departments of Transportation
would apportion funding for SRTS using funds dedicated to carry out the
CMAQ program.

History

The federal Safe Routes to School program was established in 2005 as part of the Safe, Affordable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) transportation bill. Since its enactment, more than 4500 schools have received federal SRTS grants. Currently, the program is up for reauthorization and Congress will address it as part of a new surface transportation bill.